I quit smoking 7 months ago. I have to admit that I had my difficult moments and I have taken two puffs in the meantime, but I am not the typical ex-smoker. People can smoke near me, in my house: no problem at all. In fact, I strongly considered to start again at the beginning of this year, as a protest against all the ridiculous anti-smoking measures the Dutch government has suggested.
Anyway, I am glad I haven’t started, because would not have been able to afford it. The price of a packet of cigarettes or rolling tobacco is going to rise enormously (25%) at February 1st. The biggest portion goes directly to the treasury, a small part is a normal producer induced rise. When I started smoking (10 years ago), a 20 packet of Marlboro was Dfl 3,10 (1,50 Euro). Now it is gonna cost approximately 4,- Euro (Dfl 8,80)!!!
